As many as 29 indigenous communities have lost their “official” indigenous identities as a recent government gazette has not recognised them although they have been living on this land for centuries now.

Ruling Awami League, in the face of severe internal feud, stalemate over party activities and lack of coordination between the rank-and-file members, has planned to bring major changes to its grassroots level leadership after the Ramadan.

Although Sena Kalyan Sangstha (SKS) is a philanthropic organisation whose only duty is to ensure welfare, former army officers and their family members rarely receive any advantages from SKS, reported the BBC radio documentary "Probaho" yesterday.

Law enforcement agencies must prevent activities which create anarchy in the country with the intention of sabotaging the trial of war criminals, said State Minister for Home Affairs Shamsul Haque yesterday.

Editorial

IN a Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) survey, the latest such study to assess public mood and opinion over the government's ongoing initiative to curtail power and independence of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), TIB has come out with some clear-cut findings. The central point to come out of the survey is that an overwhelming number of citizens are opposed to the cabinet-approved amendments to the existing ACC law seeking to turn it into a virtual prototype of the erstwhile anti-corruption bureau.

THE only 'fault' of Shamsunnahar Dolly, the vice-chairman of Dasmina upazila in Patuakhali district in the eye of the local organising secretary of AL Iqbal Mahmud, seemed to be that the former raised a legitimate concern at a coordination committee meeting over graft suspected to have been committed behind the collapse of an under-construction local college building. She could barely finish proposing formation of a committee to probe the incident including alleged misuse of 30 tonnes of rice allotted to the development of a college playground, when an enraged AL leader swooped on her. He hurled abusive language at her, and adding insult to injury, she reportedly got manhandled, too.

Sports

England birthday boy James Anderson and rookie pace bowler Steven Finn ripped through Pakistan's batting to reduce them to 90 for six at tea on the second day of the first test at Trent Bridge on Friday.

The Umpire Decision Review System may have its share of supporters but Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar gave a thumbs down to UDRS, saying he was not fully convinced with the controversial referral system. Tendulkar said instead of UDRS, he was more in favour of the usage of new 'Hot-Spot' technology, which is an infra-red imaging system used in cricket to determine whether the ball has struck the batsman, bat or pad.

Mohammedan Sporting Club have confirmed services of 11 players in a bid to forming a youthful side for the upcoming football season after having lost all of their previous season's booters to Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Muktijoddha Sangsad.

The Bangladesh Chess Federation is seemingly in indecision over whether to accept former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov's visiting schedule to Bangladesh ahead of the FIDE election to be held in October this year.

The end of Maradona's tenure at the helm of Argentina's national team has dealt a hard blow to his fans, even though his performance as coach was a far cry from his genius as a player. Maradona accused Argentine soccer chiefs on Wednesday of conspiring to oust him and many fans think he deserved a more dignified exit despite Argentina's disappointing showing at the World Cup.

South Asian Games gold medallist golfers Dulal Hossain and Zakiruzzaman emerged champions in team event of the 123rd Sri Lanka Open Amateur Golf Championship that concluded on Thursday at Royal Colombo Golf Club. Zakiruzzaman also became runner-up in the individual event. Bangladesh Golf Federation will accord a reception to the winners on August 2, said a press release yesterday.

Alan Isaac, the New Zealand Cricket chairman, will replace John Howard as the ICC vice-presidency nomination following Cricket Australia's refusal to choose another candidate. Howard, the country's former prime minister, was blocked last month and even though CA's board remains convinced he is the best man for the job, it will support Isaac's elevation.

Metropolitan

Two high-profile Pakistani intellectuals yesterday welcomed Bangladesh's move to expose Bengali-speaking perpetrators of 1971 crimes against humanity, as a special tribunal earlier this week in its maiden order issued arrest warrants against four main suspects.

State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Captain (Retd) Dr Mojibur Rahman Fakir yesterday said the government has been working on filling 52,000 vacant posts in the health sector aimed at reaching healthcare facilities to the doorsteps of people.

At least 15 people were injured, five houses burnt and 50 home-made bombs were exploded during a clash between two groups of villagers at Mordana village under Shibganj municipality in Chapainawabganj yesterday.

Central Working Committee of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami yesterday said the Awami League-led grand alliance government is conspiring to create anarchy in the country in the name of restoring the constitution of 1972 and reinstating secularism and socialism.

The Supreme Court verdict on the fifth amendment to the constitution has provided the government an impetus for establishing a secular democratic Bangladesh, said State Minister for Liberation War Affairs AB Tajul Islam yesterday.

Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed yesterday said fundamental principles of the state as envisaged in the constitution would return with the Supreme Court verdict that scrapped the Fifth Amendment as illegal.

The United States says it encourages a dialogue between India and Pakistan despite 'revelations' of known links between Pakistani spy agency ISI and the Taliban as it is in the interest of all three nations.

The influential speaker of Italy's lower house refused to step down yesterday after being censured by his own party, and said his supporters could vote against the government of his former ally Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Rioters in the Afghan capital have set fire to two US embassy vehicles shouting "death to America" after one of the SUVs collided with a civilian car killing a number of passengers, officials and witnesses have said.

Arts & Entertainment

Brindabon Das is one of the most popular and busiest TV playwrights of present time. Though, at the beginning of his career, he acted on stage, Brindabon eventually chose writing as his profession. In a recent interview with The Daily Star (TDS), Brindabon talked about his evolution as a writer, his current projects and more.

Shadhona, a centre for advancement of South Asian music and dance, presented the monodrama “Sitar Agni-Parikkha” on stage in July, last year. Eminent Indian actor Averee Chaurey played the protagonist. This year, Shadhona is staging the play with some changes. The main change is re-casting of the lead.

Channel i is going to air a new documentary programme on biodiversity and wildlife. Titled “Prokiti O Jibon,” the show will be aired every Sunday at 11:30 pm from tomorrow. The premiere of the programme and a press conference was held last Thursday at Channel i's office in Tejgaon.

OP-ED

A near acrimonious exchange between members of the so-called administrative service and the police service has surfaced over the issue of effective maintenance of law and order. The executive magistracy has reportedly accused the police of peddling in illicit drugs and narcotics and has demanded the creation of a separate police wing under its command.

ONE interpretation of the Cultural Revolution in China, some four decades ago, evokes justification for it. Mao Tse-tung wanted his party men and bureaucrats to go to the villages and stay there. His purpose was that they should imbibe the rigours of living in the countryside so that they would not be complacent when they returned to their chair.

WHILE addressing the AL Parliamentary Party meeting on July 22 Prime Minister Sk. Hasina said that she would take stern action if any lawmaker or minister was involved in corruption. Evidently the prime minister issued this warning in the backdrop of the reports of bungling and misappropriation of food grains allocated for test relief and food for work programs.

AS being played out by the legal battle between the US Government and the state of Arizona, the bottom line in the illegal immigration debate is whether or not to deport those unlawfully resident within a country.

THE Daily Star (DS) of July 21 carried a front-page report that said that the government was considering administrative actions against the civil servants who were performing poorly and using red tape for financial gains. The government was drawing up a list of officials -- from deputy secretaries to secretaries -- who were not doing enough to implement policy decisions and development programs. The report shows that some ministers have come down hard on the bureaucrats. They have not only complained of the inefficiency, negligence and non-cooperation of the bureaucrats, but are also equally eager to see the exit of such bureaucrats.

Environment

A paradox of technology is that it can be both a cause for environmental damage and again our best hope in repairing such damage today and avoiding it in the future. Actually, the present environmental problems call for more environmentally benign technology. In the context, many believe that the solution of today's social and environmental problems is possible through more and better technology -- not from less technology. However, it requires achieving a radical change there like a shift away from hydrocarbon-based energy technologies to greener options like renewable energy source, or innovative technology to treat pollutant or adaptation technology to adjust to the climate change impacts.

Literature

Romain Rolland (1866-1944), the French Nobel Laureate for literature in 1915, was one of the pioneering western philosophers who played a role in disseminating Indian spiritual philosophy in the West. He developed links with many Bengali figures, such as Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) and Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858-1937). His biographies called Vie de Ramakrishna (1929) and Vie de Vivekananda (1930) promoted Indian spiritual ideologies across the world. All such facts have meticulously been researched by the Bengali writer Abantikumar Sanyal (1926-2007), who was born in tradition-rich village Korokdi in district Faridpur and who has two books on Rolland and two translations of Rolland's books to his credit.

Last summer, my wife informed me that she was planning to take some of her students to Bangladesh. “Interesting!” I remarked, and went back to the newspaper story I was reading about a new archeological discovery in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, an area we visited a few years ago. I am not sure if it was my apparent lack of interest in her project, or my total immersion in my new passion, Egyptology, that prompted her next remark. “Well, if you join us, you will be able to travel in Bangladesh almost for free.” That added attraction obviously tipped the scales for me.

Can we say it now?

Star Health

22-year-old Fahim was diagnosed with epilepsy, a recurrent seizure disorder 12 years back. His seizure called generalised tonic-clonic was controlled with medications. For last 12 months, he had no episode of seizure and he took medication irregularly thinking that he had recovered. One morning, he was sleeping for very long and his parents came to make him awake. They became seized by grief when they saw that Fahim is not breathing. When they took him to a hospital, doctor confirmed his death.

Dental plaque, which is a sticky, soft, colorless material adhering to the teeth, consists of bacterial cells, salivary polymers, food residuals and bacterial by-products. Not removing plaque bacteria from the mouth regularly can lead to tooth decay and dental cavities (caries) or periodontal problems (such as gingivitis and periodontitis).

Arthritis, the medical term for joint inflammation, commonly affects the relatively small joints of the hands. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the warning signs of hand arthritis include:

Strategic Issues

Afghanistan, the frontier of President Bush's "war on terror" that his successor President Obama has embraced fully, continues to remain insecure and victory in the war is still as elusive as it was when it started 9 years ago. The main objective of that war was to destroy the Taliban that held power and had given sanctuary to Al Qaeda for its operations against US and western interests and capture Osama Ben Laden for allegedly masterminding the 9/11 attacks. Although the Talibans have been driven out of power, they have found new and impregnable sanctuary in the no man's land between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Osama Ben Laden is still free and the Talibans are on a resurgent mode in Afghanistan.

On 22 July, the Government of Pakistan announced that it has decided to extend the term of the army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (58) by three years. General Kayani was originally due to retire on November 28, but will now remain in office until 2013.

India's Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) system, which failed a test earlier this year, was more successful July 26: A PAD interceptor missile struck an incoming target missile at an altitude of 15 kilometres, according to a scientist from the government's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which is developing the missile defence program.

Israel's Ministry of Defence and the United States Department of Defence signed a deal on Sunday evening (July 25) to develop the Arrow 3 anti-missile system, integrating Israel's anti-missile systems. The Arrow 3 will make it possible for Israel to intercept long-range ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction from outside the atmosphere.

Star Books Review

A major problem involved in dealing with Emily Dickinson is the essentially reclusive nature of her individuality. In death she has been what she was in life, a symbol of obscurity and distance for those who would study her poetry and with it her personality. And then comes another problem. And that is fundamentally the difficulty in an understanding as well as appreciation of her poetry. Scholars of American literature, and not just in the United States, have gone to various lengths in attempting explanations of her poetic works and yet, in more instances than one, have quite been unable to present Dickinson in clearly outlined dimensions before readers. That has been quite a tragedy.

Autobiographies are generally interesting for the obvious reason that they deal with graphic and narrative accounts of different events and that often range from the early days of the individual to the last ones. When the writer has varied experiences professionally and otherwise finding an opportunity of traversing in different occupational fields at times in somewhat conflicting ones an autobiography may be even more exciting. Mosaic Of Memories more or less falls in this category as the autobiographer seeks to bring the readers to the changing pattern of six decades that cover the period between his initial schooling and the last of several professions he has been in including a politician contesting national elections, despite the fact that this stint has not been very fascinating as far as electoral success is concerned. But the bottom line is that the author had the unique opportunity of working as a teacher, civil servant, international bureaucrat, lawyer and last but not the least politician. Whether politics is a “profession” or not like the earlier professions of A.T.M.Shamsul Haque may be a subject of intense debate, but this in the nearly last phase of his career definitely provided enthusiasm and stimulation to a person whose student life especially during prime time in college and at Dhaka university was not devoid of student politics that was also somewhat inextricably linked with the national political psyche.

Human life can turn tragic corners without any notice and yet leave traces on the cycle of eternity, leave stigma that refuses to go away. Nicky Dillon and her father stumble upon a new born baby left in the snow in the woods. They take the baby to the nearby hospital and save the infant. However, the hospital authority notifies the police and the inquiries begin. From this moment Nicky and her father's lives change and overnight they become the hot news of New Hampshire, the place where they live.

Mario Puzo's classic work The Godfather was immensely popular when it first hit bookstores throughout the globe. Based on the saga of the Corleones, the topmost crime family of New York, the much acclaimed novel and probably the best known work of Puzo wowed the readers . So it was not a surprise when it got its exposure on the silver screen of Hollywood. But the book in review, The Godfather Returns, is not a sequel to the original Puzo masterpiece or the script of any Hollywood flicks with Pierce Brosnan in the leading role. So Godfather enthusiasts are likely to be a little bit disappointed by the feat of Mark Winegardner, who has incorporated new characters and made experimentations with some characters in the plot of the story. But on the whole, Winegardner deserves kudos for this brilliant piece of work.